According to The World Health Organization, up to 80 percent of Americans are deficient in magnesium. Here are 10 signs that you may be among those affected.

Low Energy
Magnesium is required in our body’s reactions that create the chemical adenosine triphosphate, which is the main source of energy in our cells. Therefore, without magnesium in our systems, we would literally not have any energy on a cellular level and would feel fatigued.

In a study by the Human Nutrition Research Center of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. women who had magnesium deficiencies were reported to have higher heart rates and required more oxygen to do normal physical tasks.

Anxiety And Depression
Magnesium also seems to have a tremendous impact on your mental health. According to Psychology Today, magnesium acts as a “guard” to keep the levels of calcium and glutamate inside our brain in check. Without magnesium, under certain stressful conditions, they can damage our brains which can lead to cell death.

Magnesium deficiency can cause neuronal damage which is manifested by signs of depression.

The National Center for Biotechnology reports that magnesium is also helpful in suppressing major depression, a mood disorder characterized by despondency, pessimism, decreased activity, sadness and a sense of inadequacy. The report also stated that magnesium deficiency may also be a potential cause of other related mental health problems including IQ loss.

Sleep Problems
Magnesium also has a dramatic impact on how well you sleep — it helps calm your nerves and relax muscles which can help you fall asleep faster. In addition, a deficiency of magnesium is often reported to be responsible for the nervousness that prevents sleep.

The British Journal of Nutrition reported in a 2014 publication that magnesium deficiency had been shown to impair sleep quality and was a significant factor in the occurrence of sleep disorders.

Calcification of the Arteries
Calcification of the arteries isn’t the first symptom of magnesium deficiency, but it might be one of the most dangerous. When your arteries begin to calcify from low magnesium levels, it can lead to coronary problems like heart disease and even the possibility of a heart attack.

In a 2014 Framingham Heart Study report, lack of sufficient magnesium in the diet was determined to be a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Meanwhile, subjects who consumed extra magnesium were found to be significantly less likely to suffer calcification of the coronary arteries.

The report also stated that people with low magnesium levels were 50% more likely to develop atrial fibrillation, an irregular heart rate commonly that normally causes poor blood flow to the body.

High Blood Pressure / Hypertension
In a report from the Harvard University Medical School, people with the healthiest blood pressure numbers were reported to have had the highest magnesium intake. A follow-up analysis also showed that magnesium supplements also had the same effect.

In a University of Minnesota study, the risk for hypertension was reported to be 70% lower in women who had adequate or higher than normal levels of magnesium. An additional study by the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, reported that taking a magnesium supplement reduced systolic blood pressure readings by an average of three to four points, and that diastolic readings were reduced by from two to three points.

Muscle Spasms and Cramps
Magnesium deficiency can also cause stiffening of your muscle tissue which can lead to cramps and spasms. A deficiency in magnesium increases the amount of oxygen your muscles need for even lower-level exercise and it also reduces muscle performance.

In a report from the National Institutes of Health, magnesium has been shown to help the body maintain normal nerve and muscle function, helps bones stay strong and keeps the heart to beat steadily.

Pregnancy Complaints
Magnesium levels can also drastically affect your health and mood while pregnant. During pregnancy, magnesium helps build up and repair your body tissues. If you have a severe deficiency while you’re pregnant, it can lead to poor fetal growth, preeclampsia, and in severe cases even infant mortality.

Magnesium also has a positive effect on your body’s muscles when you’re pregnant. According to many experts, it can help prevent premature contractions by naturally relaxing the muscles in your womb. And women who take magnesium supplements appear to have less chance of giving birth prematurely.

Hormone Problems
Our bodies also use magnesium to regulate our hormone levels. Studies show that the levels of estrogen or progesterone in a woman’s body are directly related to the levels of magnesium. This appears to be part of the reason why women who are pregnant experience more muscular type complaints, leg cramps and PMS during the second half of their menstrual cycles.

Magnesium affects the hormone levels in men as well. It improves men’s antioxidant capacity which decreases inflammation, allowing for an increase of testosterone and IGF-1. In a 2011 Italian study, older men with low magnesium levels showed a corresponding low level of total testosterone than those with the highest magnesium levels.

Bone Health
Most of us have always heard that calcium is considered to be our most important mineral to insure bone health, but magnesium appears to be just as important if not more so. Magnesium is needed for Vitamin D in our bodies to turn on calcium absorption.

Magnesium is also needed for our bodies to stimulate the hormone calcitonin which helps draw calcium out of our soft tissues and muscles and into our bones. This explains why magnesium helps lower our risk of osteoporosis, heart attack, kidney stones and arthritis.

Other Mineral Deficiencies
Most of the vitamins and minerals we take each day work synergistically and magnesium is considered one of the major forces in this process. Magnesium is needed for our bodies to properly utilize potassium, potassium, Vitamin K and many other nutrients that our bodies need.

Magnesium helps our bodies absorb Vitamin D by activating the vitamin to turn it into a form that our bodies can use. And magnesium is also needed for our bodies to absorb calcium. Without enough magnesium, the calcium in our bodies may collect in the soft tissues and cause arthritis.

Posted by Veronica Simmons for Vitality News, December 30, 2015.

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